PANDA 2011-2012 SHORTLISTS (Books are listed in alphabetical order by author)
YOUNGER READERS (EC-Grade 2)
Brun-Cosme, Nadine. Big Wolf and Little Wolf: Such a Beautiful Orange. When Little Wolf does not return after chasing an orange that Big Wolf has tossed to him, Big Wolf begins to worry about all the things that might have happened to his friend.
Howard, Martin. Germs: An Epic Tale on a Tiny Scale. A hilarious look at the germs that live with us every day and their battle to take control of our bodies with a message.
King, M. G. Librarian on the Roof! A True Story. The new librarian at the Clark Library, the oldest library in Texas, decides to raise money to make a special place for children by spending a week on the roof of the building.
Lester, Alison. Noni the Pony. Noni is the nicest pony any little child could ever hope to meet. Ormerod, Jan. Maudie and Bear. Maudie’s world revolves around Maudie. Bear is a patient and solid caregiver in spite of Maudie’s bad behavior.
Spiegelman, Nadja. Zig and Wikki in Something Ate My Homework. Zig and Wikki arrive on earth to seach for a pet for Zig’s class assignment.
Stead, Philip C. A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Zookeeper Amos McGee, who is adored by all the animals, gets some unexpected guests while home sick one day.
Stein, David Ezra. Interrupting Chicken. Little Red Chicken wants Papa to read her a bedtime story, but interrupts him almost as soon as he begins each tale.
Sutton, Sally. Roadworks. Full of shout-aloud noise words, rhythm and rhyme, this book follows the process of building a road from beginning to end and full of noisy vehicles and clanking machinery. It also includes an illustrated glossary naming and describing each road-building vehicle.
Wild, Margaret and Freya Blackwood. Harry and Hopper. Harry and his dog Hopper have done everything together, ever since Hopper was a jumpy little puppy. But one day the unthinkable happens: when Harry comes home from school, Hopper isn’t there to greet him.
Wiesner, David. Art and Max. Max wants to be an artist like Arthur, but his first attempt at using a paintbrush sends the two friends on a whirlwind trip through various media, with unexpected consequences.
Willems, Mo. We Are in a Book. Piggie realizes that she and Gerald the elephant are in a book and that she can make the reader say words, but when Gerald comes to understand the danger of the book ending, Piggie comes up with a solution to get the reader to keep reading.
MIDDLE READERS (Grades 3-5)
Banerjee, Anjali. Seaglass Summer. While spending a month on an island off the coast of Washington helping in her Uncle Sanjay’s veterinary clinic eleven-year-old Poppy Ray soon questions her decision to follow in her uncle’s footsteps.
DiCamillo, Kate. Bink & Gollie. Two roller-skating best friends--one tiny, one tall--share three comical adventures involving outrageously bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion. Grant, Michael. The Call. After saving the life of the school’s toughest bully, 12-year-old Mack, who fears everything from spiders to the ocean, is visited by the ancient wizard Grimluk, who charges Mack with gathering the “Magnifica,” a group of 12 magical 12-year-olds who can defeat the ancient Pale Queen and her daughter. Mass, Wendy. The Candymakers. Four gifted twelve-year-olds, including Logan, the candymaker’s son, are set to be contestants in the Confectionary Association’s national competition to determine the nation’s tastiest sweet, but nobody anticipates that a friendship will form between them. McCully, Emily Arnold. The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux. An illustrated account of how four boys discovered the ancient paintings in the cave of Lascaux in the south of France in 1940 while searching for treasure. Paulsen, Gary. Masters of Disaster. Twelve-year-old Henry Mosely, having decided his life is boring, ropes his friends Riley and Reed into a series of hair-raising adventures, including trying to break world records, visiting a haunted house, and solving a century-old murder.
Peet, Mal. Cloud Tea Monkeys. When her mother becomes too ill to harvest tea on the nearby plantation, Shenaz is too small to fill in, but when she tells the monkeys she has befriended why she is sad, they bring her a basket filled with rare and valuable wild tea.
Singer, Marilyn. Mirror, Mirror. A collection of short poems which, when reversed, provide new perspectives on the fairy tale characters they feature.
Tanner, Lian. The Museum of Thieves. Goldie, an impulsive and bold twelve-year-old, escapes the oppressive city of Jewel, and finds refuge in the extraordinary Museum of Dunt, an ever-shifting world where she discovers a useful secrets that threaten her city and everyone she loves.
Tellegan, Toon. Letters to Everyone and Anyone. A collection of illustrated, fictional letters written by animals, including an invitation to a dance sent from an elephant to a snail and mole’s lonely letters to himself.
Winter, Jeanette. Biblioburro: A True Story from Columbia. Luis has so many books in his little house in Colombia that he buys two donkeys and travels throughout the land bringing the joy of reading to children.
Zidrou and Godi. Ducoboo: The Class Struggle. In school, Ducoboo, the self-proclaimed king of dunces, wages a war of wits with Leonie, a gifted girl who refuses to share her answers with him.
OLDER READERS (Grades 6-8)
Boyne, John. Noah Barleywater Runs Away. When life at home becomes too difficult, eight-year-old Noah sets out to see the world and have an adventure. In the forest Noah meets a toymaker and he travels with him on a journey that will change his life forever.
Chevat, Richie. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets behind what You Eat. Examines the origins of the different food chains that have sustained humans throughout history, discussing how certain foods and cuisines have become a popular part of people’s daily diets.
Cushman, Karen. Alchemy and Meggy Swann. Meggy Swann, a girl who walks with the aid of two sticks, arrives in Elizabethan London, along with her goose Louise, to stay with her father who really does not want her, and while he pursues his dream of transforming base metal into gold, Meggy undergoes a transformation herself.
Donnelly, Jennifer. Revolution. An angry, grieving seventeen-year-old musician facing expulsion from her prestigious Brooklyn private school travels to Paris to complete a school assignment. She uncovers a diary written during the French revolution by a young actress attempting to help a tortured, imprisoned little boy--Louis Charles, the lost king of France.
Higson, Charlie. The Enemy. When the sickness came, every parent, policeman, politician - every adult - fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry. Only children under fourteen remain, and they’re fighting to survive. Now there are rumors of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London.
Holm, Jennifer. Turtle in Paradise. In 1935, jobs are hard to come by, and Turtle’s mother is lucky to find work as a live-in housekeeper. When she learns that her employer can’t stand children, she sends her 11-year-old daughter from New Jersey to Key West to live with her sister and family.
Mulligan, Andy. Trash. A group of fourteen-year-old boys, who make a living picking garbage from the outskirts of a large city, finds something special and mysterious that brings terrifying consequences.
Sachar, Louis. The Cardturner: A Novel about a King, a Queen, and a Joker. When Alton’s ageing, blind uncle asks him to attend bridge games with him, he agrees. But, this choice soon turns out to be a lot more complex than Alton could ever have imagined.
Schmidt, Gary D. Okay for Now. As a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him. So begins a coming-of-age masterwork full of equal parts comedy and tragedy from Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt.
Shihab Nye, Naomi. Time You Let Me In: 25 poets under 25. A collection of poems selected by Naomi Shihab Nye from twenty-five poets, each under twenty-five years of age.
Stephens, John. The Emerald Atlas. Kate, Michael, and Emma have passed from one orphanage to another in the ten years since their parents disappeared to protect them, but now they learn that they have special powers--and a fearsome enemy--and embark on a prophesied quest to find a magical book.
TenNapel , Doug. Ghostopolis. Garth Hale, accidentally zapped into the ghost world by ghost wrangler Frank Gallows, teams up with Cecil, his grandfather’s ghost, in an effort to save him from the evil ruler of Ghostopolis and get him back home again.
MATURE READERS (Grades 9-12) Bacigalupi, Paolo. Ship Breaker. In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl. Egan, Jennifer. A Visit from the Goon Squad. Bennie Salazar, who put aside his days as a punk rocker to be a record executive, reminisces about his younger years while he remains naive to the inner workings of Sasha, the mid-thirties woman who works with Bennie and harbors a penchant for stealing. Fey, Tina. Bossypants. From her humble roots growing up in Pennsylvania to her days doing amateur improv in Chicago Fey gives us a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain of modern comedy. Gomez-Jurado, Juan. The Moses Expedition. Father Anthony Fowler, who works for both the CIA and the Vatican secret service, and Andrea Otero, a journalist, become involved in a secret archeology expedition to Jordan, set up by a reclusive billionaire who hopes the team will recover the Ark of the Covenant. Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. Ah-Kim Chang and her mother immigrate to Brooklyn. Kim’s perseverance earns her a place at an elite private school where she is befriended by Annette, who helps her adjust to American culture. Murray, Paul. Skippy Dies. The death of fourteen-year-old Skippy, who was found dead on the floor of a donut shop, sheds light on a mystery that links the boys, parents, and teachers of Dublin’s Seabrook College. Pierson, D.C. The Boy Who Could Never Sleep and Didn’t Have To. Darren knows that if there’s anything unique about you, men in suits and dark glasses will show up and take you away. Then, Darren discovers that his new best bud, Eric, has a superpower: he literally never sleeps and never has to! Rosoff, Meg. The Bride’s Farewell. Pell Ridley, having left home on the day she was to marry her childhood sweetheart with the intention of finding a more fulfilling life, meets a poacher with whom she travels through the countryside, but soon becomes overwhelmed by her emotional ties to her family and lover. Silvey, Craig. Jasper Jones. In small-town Australia, teens Jasper and Charlie form an unlikely friendship when one asks the other to help him cover up a murder until they can prove who is responsible. Wallace, Jason. Out of Shadows. Robert Jacklin is thrown into the aftermath of war when his family moves from England to Zimbabwe in the 1980s. When he is enrolled in a prestigious boarding school he faces racism and violence and must make a difficult decision as a group of white boys decides to protest the country’s new government. Weing, Drew. Set to Sea. A poet yearns for the sea, but his writing on the subject falls flat, even to his own ears. Then, one night, he is shanghaied onto a clipper ship destined for Hong Kong and gets to find out about life at sea first hand. Zulkey, Claire. An Off Year.** Upon arriving at her dorm room, eighteen-year-old Cecily decides to postpone her freshman year of college and return to her Chicago home, where she spends time thinking about her options and what she really wants to do with her life.
(Books are listed in alphabetical order by author)
YOUNGER READERS (EC-Grade 2)
Brun-Cosme, Nadine. Big Wolf and Little Wolf: Such a Beautiful Orange. When Little Wolf does not return after chasing an orange that Big Wolf has tossed to him, Big Wolf begins to worry about all the things that might have happened to his friend.
Howard, Martin. Germs: An Epic Tale on a Tiny Scale. A hilarious look at the germs that live with us every day and their battle to take control of our bodies with a message.
King, M. G. Librarian on the Roof! A True Story. The new librarian at the Clark Library, the oldest library in Texas, decides to raise money to make a special place for children by spending a week on the roof of the building.
Lester, Alison. Noni the Pony. Noni is the nicest pony any little child could ever hope to meet. Ormerod, Jan. Maudie and Bear. Maudie’s world revolves around Maudie. Bear is a patient and solid caregiver in spite of Maudie’s bad behavior.
Spiegelman, Nadja. Zig and Wikki in Something Ate My Homework. Zig and Wikki arrive on earth to seach for a pet for Zig’s class assignment.
Stead, Philip C. A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Zookeeper Amos McGee, who is adored by all the animals, gets some unexpected guests while home sick one day.
Stein, David Ezra. Interrupting Chicken. Little Red Chicken wants Papa to read her a bedtime story, but interrupts him almost as soon as he begins each tale.
Sutton, Sally. Roadworks. Full of shout-aloud noise words, rhythm and rhyme, this book follows the process of building a road from beginning to end and full of noisy vehicles and clanking machinery. It also includes an illustrated glossary naming and describing each road-building vehicle.
Wild, Margaret and Freya Blackwood. Harry and Hopper. Harry and his dog Hopper have done everything together, ever since Hopper was a jumpy little puppy. But one day the unthinkable happens: when Harry comes home from school, Hopper isn’t there to greet him.
Wiesner, David. Art and Max. Max wants to be an artist like Arthur, but his first attempt at using a paintbrush sends the two friends on a whirlwind trip through various media, with unexpected consequences.
Willems, Mo. We Are in a Book. Piggie realizes that she and Gerald the elephant are in a book and that she can make the reader say words, but when Gerald comes to understand the danger of the book ending, Piggie comes up with a solution to get the reader to keep reading.
MIDDLE READERS (Grades 3-5)
- Banerjee, Anjali. Seaglass Summer. While spending a month on an island off the coast of Washington helping in her Uncle Sanjay’s veterinary clinic eleven-year-old Poppy Ray soon questions her decision to follow in her uncle’s footsteps.
DiCamillo, Kate. Bink & Gollie. Two roller-skating best friends--one tiny, one tall--share three comical adventures involving outrageously bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion.Grant, Michael. The Call. After saving the life of the school’s toughest bully, 12-year-old Mack, who fears everything from spiders to the ocean, is visited by the ancient wizard Grimluk, who charges Mack with gathering the “Magnifica,” a group of 12 magical 12-year-olds who can defeat the ancient Pale Queen and her daughter.
Mass, Wendy. The Candymakers. Four gifted twelve-year-olds, including Logan, the candymaker’s son, are set to be contestants in the Confectionary Association’s national competition to determine the nation’s tastiest sweet, but nobody anticipates that a friendship will form between them.
McCully, Emily Arnold. The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux. An illustrated account of how four boys discovered the ancient paintings in the cave of Lascaux in the south of France in 1940 while searching for treasure.
Paulsen, Gary. Masters of Disaster. Twelve-year-old Henry Mosely, having decided his life is boring, ropes his friends Riley and Reed into a series of hair-raising adventures, including trying to break world records, visiting a haunted house, and solving a century-old murder.
Peet, Mal. Cloud Tea Monkeys. When her mother becomes too ill to harvest tea on the nearby plantation, Shenaz is too small to fill in, but when she tells the monkeys she has befriended why she is sad, they bring her a basket filled with rare and valuable wild tea.
Singer, Marilyn. Mirror, Mirror. A collection of short poems which, when reversed, provide new perspectives on the fairy tale characters they feature.
Tanner, Lian. The Museum of Thieves. Goldie, an impulsive and bold twelve-year-old, escapes the oppressive city of Jewel, and finds refuge in the extraordinary Museum of Dunt, an ever-shifting world where she discovers a useful secrets that threaten her city and everyone she loves.
Tellegan, Toon. Letters to Everyone and Anyone. A collection of illustrated, fictional letters written by animals, including an invitation to a dance sent from an elephant to a snail and mole’s lonely letters to himself.
Winter, Jeanette. Biblioburro: A True Story from Columbia. Luis has so many books in his little house in Colombia that he buys two donkeys and travels throughout the land bringing the joy of reading to children.
Zidrou and Godi. Ducoboo: The Class Struggle. In school, Ducoboo, the self-proclaimed king of dunces, wages a war of wits with Leonie, a gifted girl who refuses to share her answers with him.
OLDER READERS (Grades 6-8)
Boyne, John. Noah Barleywater Runs Away. When life at home becomes too difficult, eight-year-old Noah sets out to see the world and have an adventure. In the forest Noah meets a toymaker and he travels with him on a journey that will change his life forever.
Chevat, Richie. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets behind what You Eat. Examines the origins of the different food chains that have sustained humans throughout history, discussing how certain foods and cuisines have become a popular part of people’s daily diets.
Cushman, Karen. Alchemy and Meggy Swann. Meggy Swann, a girl who walks with the aid of two sticks, arrives in Elizabethan London, along with her goose Louise, to stay with her father who really does not want her, and while he pursues his dream of transforming base metal into gold, Meggy undergoes a transformation herself.
Donnelly, Jennifer. Revolution. An angry, grieving seventeen-year-old musician facing expulsion from her prestigious Brooklyn private school travels to Paris to complete a school assignment. She uncovers a diary written during the French revolution by a young actress attempting to help a tortured, imprisoned little boy--Louis Charles, the lost king of France.
Higson, Charlie. The Enemy. When the sickness came, every parent, policeman, politician - every adult - fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry. Only children under fourteen remain, and they’re fighting to survive. Now there are rumors of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London.
Holm, Jennifer. Turtle in Paradise. In 1935, jobs are hard to come by, and Turtle’s mother is lucky to find work as a live-in housekeeper. When she learns that her employer can’t stand children, she sends her 11-year-old daughter from New Jersey to Key West to live with her sister and family.
Mulligan, Andy. Trash. A group of fourteen-year-old boys, who make a living picking garbage from the outskirts of a large city, finds something special and mysterious that brings terrifying consequences.
Sachar, Louis. The Cardturner: A Novel about a King, a Queen, and a Joker. When Alton’s ageing, blind uncle asks him to attend bridge games with him, he agrees. But, this choice soon turns out to be a lot more complex than Alton could ever have imagined.
Schmidt, Gary D. Okay for Now. As a fourteen-year-old who just moved to a new town, with no friends and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him. So begins a coming-of-age masterwork full of equal parts comedy and tragedy from Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt.
Shihab Nye, Naomi. Time You Let Me In: 25 poets under 25. A collection of poems selected by Naomi Shihab Nye from twenty-five poets, each under twenty-five years of age.
Stephens, John. The Emerald Atlas. Kate, Michael, and Emma have passed from one orphanage to another in the ten years since their parents disappeared to protect them, but now they learn that they have special powers--and a fearsome enemy--and embark on a prophesied quest to find a magical book.
TenNapel , Doug. Ghostopolis. Garth Hale, accidentally zapped into the ghost world by ghost wrangler Frank Gallows, teams up with Cecil, his grandfather’s ghost, in an effort to save him from the evil ruler of Ghostopolis and get him back home again.
MATURE READERS (Grades 9-12)
Bacigalupi, Paolo. Ship Breaker. In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.
Egan, Jennifer. A Visit from the Goon Squad. Bennie Salazar, who put aside his days as a punk rocker to be a record executive, reminisces about his younger years while he remains naive to the inner workings of Sasha, the mid-thirties woman who works with Bennie and harbors a penchant for stealing.
Fey, Tina. Bossypants. From her humble roots growing up in Pennsylvania to her days doing amateur improv in Chicago Fey gives us a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain of modern comedy.
Gomez-Jurado, Juan. The Moses Expedition. Father Anthony Fowler, who works for both the CIA and the Vatican secret service, and Andrea Otero, a journalist, become involved in a secret archeology expedition to Jordan, set up by a reclusive billionaire who hopes the team will recover the Ark of the Covenant.
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. Ah-Kim Chang and her mother immigrate to Brooklyn. Kim’s perseverance earns her a place at an elite private school where she is befriended by Annette, who helps her adjust to American culture.
Murray, Paul. Skippy Dies. The death of fourteen-year-old Skippy, who was found dead on the floor of a donut shop, sheds light on a mystery that links the boys, parents, and teachers of Dublin’s Seabrook College.
Pierson, D.C. The Boy Who Could Never Sleep and Didn’t Have To. Darren knows that if there’s anything unique about you, men in suits and dark glasses will show up and take you away. Then, Darren discovers that his new best bud, Eric, has a superpower: he literally never sleeps and never has to!
Rosoff, Meg. The Bride’s Farewell. Pell Ridley, having left home on the day she was to marry her childhood sweetheart with the intention of finding a more fulfilling life, meets a poacher with whom she travels through the countryside, but soon becomes overwhelmed by her emotional ties to her family and lover.
Silvey, Craig. Jasper Jones. In small-town Australia, teens Jasper and Charlie form an unlikely friendship when one asks the other to help him cover up a murder until they can prove who is responsible.
Wallace, Jason. Out of Shadows. Robert Jacklin is thrown into the aftermath of war when his family moves from England to Zimbabwe in the 1980s. When he is enrolled in a prestigious boarding school he faces racism and violence and must make a difficult decision as a group of white boys decides to protest the country’s new government.
Weing, Drew. Set to Sea. A poet yearns for the sea, but his writing on the subject falls flat, even to his own ears. Then, one night, he is shanghaied onto a clipper ship destined for Hong Kong and gets to find out about life at sea first hand.
Zulkey, Claire. An Off Year.** Upon arriving at her dorm room, eighteen-year-old Cecily decides to postpone her freshman year of college and return to her Chicago home, where she spends time thinking about her options and what she really wants to do with her life.